Marvel Unveils Brand-New Spider-Man Power, And It’s Absolutely Heartbreaking

Published Aug 10, 2026, 4:18 PM EDT Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Mary Jane: Face It, Tiger #1.Spider-Man has had plenty of fascinating spider powers throughout 64 years of Marvel Comics lore, as well as a handful of unique spider transformations. For instance, it’s always been a bit odd that a boy who inherited his abilities from a radioactive spider would not also inherit organic webbing as a superpower, though having to devise and manufacture web-shooters has always been a great demonstration of his genius-level intellect. It’s hypocrisy at its finest to have three of the four Mary Jane: Face It, Tiger anniversary stories centered around Peter and MJ’s love life when the current status quo of mainline Spider-Man comic books is adamant about keeping them at arm’s length. Still, it’s tear-jerking reading Ann Nocenti, J. Michael Straczynski, and J. M. DeMatteis’ terrific tales about them, and it’s only because of Peter and MJ’s storied history that Peter is able to acquire a brand-new spider power in order to express how much he loves her long after he’s gone. Spider-Man Gains A New Ability On His Deathbed JMS resolves and gives closure to his ill-fated ‘Last Stand’ Spider-Man story in Mary Jane: Face It, Tiger #1’s “Soft Words at Sunset.” Here, we see the last words Peter and MJ ever said to one another—the last words they might ever say to one another in the mainline universe, assuming the continuity chooses to honor this JMS story and ever eventually catch up to it in the timeline. Peter’s death is foretold the same as it was in The Amazing Spider-Man #500, but we now have context as to why he decided to wait for the police unit to arrive and meet him at Aunt May’s grave, and why he was content with being cut down in a hail of gunfire. Indeed, “Soft Words at Sunset” takes place in a far-future present-day, with a 60-year-old MJ reminiscing about her life with Peter and visiting his grave in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. Funny enough, it turns out that Peter went and learned how to communicate with spiders and have them do his bidding due to an idea that MJ planted the seed for: “I always used to bug him—so to speak—asking if Ant-Man could talk to ants, why couldn’t he talk to spiders?” It’s A Power Born Of His Love For MJ This power manifests itself in the sweetest way imaginable, with Peter apparently having used his last words before dying speaking to a spider and instructing it (and presumably many other spiders for years to come) to weave a web over his headstone annually that writes, “I love you.” To this, MJ wittily says, “I guess he was holding out on me. The Ant-Man thing must’ve really pissed him off.” Sadly, it doesn’t seem likely that we’ll see Peter and MJ rekindling their love any time soon. The solicitation for Mary Jane: Face It, Tiger #1 reads as follows: SIXTY YEARS AGO, WE ALL HIT THE JACKPOT! Back in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #42, we all got our first real look at MARY JANE WATSON, and sixty years later, we’re all still reeling. In that time, she’s been a party girl, OTP and even VENOM! To celebrate MJ’s storied run, we present three stories of three different MJ eras and an epilogue that points toward the future of the inimitable MJW! Mary Jane: Face It, Tiger #1 is out now. Movie(s) Spider-Man, Spider-Man Strikes Back, Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse TV Show(s) Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Spider-Man Unlimited, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Spider-Noir Comic The Amazing Spider-Man First Film Spider-Man First TV Show Spider-Man Genres Superhero, Action, Adventure, Science Fiction, Drama, Coming-of-Age Cast Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Shameik Moore, Zendaya, Kirsten Dunst, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Rosemary Harris, Sally Field, Jacob Batalon, J.K. Simmons, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Michael Keaton, Jamie Foxx, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jon Favreau, Tony Revolori, Laura Harrier, Angourie Rice, Benedict Cumberbatch, Nicholas Hammond Director Sam Raimi, Marc Webb, Jon Watts, Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson Writers Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Brian Michael Bendis, jonathan hickman, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller Created by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko